Northern Graphite (TSXV: NGC; US-OTC: NGPHF), the continent’s only flake graphite producer, plans to restart its Lac des Iles mill in Quebec next Monday and raise prices for the battery metal.
After a scheduled maintenance shutdown began Nov. 2, the resumption is a week later than stated in October and the company didn’t repeat on Tuesday any plans to double output to around 25,000 tonnes a year.
The company didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking clarification. Shares in Northern Graphite jumped by a quarter on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto to 18¢ apiece, valuing the company at $22.3 million.
Northern Graphite said it’s “negotiated significant price increases with customers for its graphite for 2025 to reflect rising costs of production and inflation.” It didn’t give figures, as they’re sensitive information.
Producers were selling battery grade graphite for US$5,329 per tonne last May but prices could increase to between US$8,707 and US$10,874 this year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The graphite market is conducted in one-to-one deals rather than in an open process like gold.
“We are starting the year with a strong order book, reflecting continued robust demand as well as recent geopolitical events and supply chain concerns," CEO Hugues Jacquemin said in the release.
The company is banking on electric automakers sourcing graphite outside of China, as in guidelines for United States government funding established under the Biden administration.
China, the leading producer of graphite used in electric vehicle batteries, said in 2023 it was curbing exports of the material.
In October, Northern Graphite said it planned to open a new pit early this year and double output from around 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes a year.
Northern Graphite supplies anode material for lithium-ion batteries and EVs, fuel cells and graphene, as well as advanced industrial technologies, the company says. Its battery materials division, which has a state-of-the-art laboratory in Frankfurt, leads a mine-to-battery strategy.
The division is focused on developing advanced anode materials to improve the cycle life and charging rate of lithium-ion batteries, and on marketing Northern's licensed, patented Porocarb® product, it said.
The company also owns the Bissett Creek project in Ontario and the fully permitted Okanjande graphite mine in Namibia, which is currently on care and maintenance.
January 7, 2025
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